Autopilot Vs Adorable
by starsareFALLING
Summary: Chapter six! Woo! "Finally, something that she wanted to respond to, to change for, like Faith was the tiny light at the end of the tunnel that she'd drag the entire train along behind her with her bare hands to get to." A little bit of honesty. B/F Slash
1. Butterflies and Pterodactyls

Since I got such a nice response on it (even though everyone hated me because it wasn't complete), I decided I'd be nice and finish it for you guys. To everyone that reviewed, thank you--and even to those who just read it, even if you hated it. It's now a complete chapter, and if people like the completeness of it, yell at me some more and I'll work on a second chapter. I already have an idea for it, so if you like it, let me know, and, hopefully, I'll get to work.

Also, I edited some stuff, so even though the beginning is still the same, I've fixed a few small details. And yes, I realize that Buffy comments on Faith's cuteness many, many, many times, but please deal with me here. It's hard not to comment on it when there's someone that cute around, trust me.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think.

* * *

Buffy stared blankly at the whiteboard, elbows resting on her lab table, her cheek in her palm, fascinated.

Letters and numbers danced before her, bleeding into each other, a mass of starry-sky blue smeared across her vision. In the fraction of a second it had taken for her to get off track, yet again, Mrs. Roth had already moved on. Buffy sighed. She was trying to pay attention, honestly, she was, but the more she pushed herself to focus, the less sense everything else made. What is it about Chemistry? she questioned inwardly. Nothing about it seems to make sense. Nothing at all.

She shook her head and attempted to focus once more as Mrs. Roth continued speaking. _Okay, if I don't focus now, I'll miss the entire lesson_, she berated herself. Adjusting her grip on her favorite sparkly pink pen, she put great effort toward deciphering the board. _Where was I? Oh, right. Potassium. Okay. 'Potassium has nineteen electrons, and'--and what kind of word is potassium anyway? _She studied the word on the board for a long moment, an odd expression having taken hold of her face. Eventually, she shook her head dismissively. _Funky chemistry vocabulary. Hmm. Potassium. Po-tass-ee-yum… Pot-ass--_

"Ms. Summers?"

Buffy jumped guiltily. "Huh?"

Mrs. Roth raised an eyebrow, frowning. It wasn't the first time she had caught the blonde spacing out during her class. "I asked you if you were finished copying the board," the older woman replied tightly.

Buffy blinked. It took her a moment to process the question, but it soon registered. Then the embarrassment settled in. _God. It's almost like she actively plans to make me look like an idiot… _she huffed inwardly, frowning as nearly half of her fellow classmates expressed their annoyance. Some shook their heads, while other rolled their eyes. Some were even so bold as to whisper about her behind her back. _Okay, I can _so _hear you guys… _She held back a resigned sigh.

"Oh," she answered simply. Why not secure her status as the dumb blonde?

Mrs. Roth held back a sigh of her own. "Well, are you?"

Buffy opened her mouth to reply, suffering a twinge of annoyance at the Chemistry Professor's condescending tone, but her words were cut short by a disconcerting shiver. Warmth trickled abruptly down her spine, almost seeming to pause and affect each vertebrae individually as it went. The nerves in her fingertips tingled as if her hands were atop a livewire, while spastic sensations shot from one synapse to the next all throughout her body, and her heart missed out on more than a few crucial beats. Her lungs exemplified a failure as well, catching and holding until Buffy had to swallow against her suddenly dry throat and let out a harsh exhale. Only one thing could evoke that sensation: a certain someone with wild chestnut hair and the deepest chocolate brown eyes ever imaginable--and that certain someone had just walked on campus.

"Faith…" the tiny blonde breathed quietly, forgetting for a moment that her classmates had ears.

Mrs. Roth paused at the board, the eraser in her hand poised at the ready. She glanced over her shoulder. "Pardon?"

Buffy's face grew incredibly hot, the tips of her ears burning as her slip caught up with her. Shaking herself free of the weakness threatening to render even her Slayer resistance useless, she inhaled deeply, swallowing the lump that felt almost the size of a cannonball in her throat. "Uhm, place," she corrected herself. "Lost my… place…" Her pen had abandoned her hand during her miniature seizure, and she picked it up slowly, nerves causing her hand to quiver visibly. She felt much like a patient recently diagnosed with severe brain trauma and motor skill deficiencies after a serious accident. _That might not be far from the truth..._ she admitted.

The older woman's eye twitched. The blonde was sure taking her time. She sighed audibly, as did nearly half the class, then inhaled a hopefully calming breath. "Do hurry, Ms. Summers," she commanded tersely. "We haven't got all day."

"Yeah… sure…" Buffy mumbled quietly. This time, Mrs. Roth's attitude didn't ruffle her in the slightest. She was too busy resisting the urge to physically shake away the lingering tremors caused by Faith's arrival to notice. _That girl… I swear to God, she's only one heartbeat away from giving me a heart attack…_ she thought, still shaken. _Why does everything inside me decide to just stop working whenever she's around? _She played idly with her notebook and pen, scribbling something down that had absolutely nothing to do with Chemistry._ I think I'm broken. All systems: a _no_. Every time I see her, I just crash! Bang. Ka-boom. _She sighed._ Maybe it's just some crazy Slayer thing,_ she thought hopefully,_ 'cause there's two of us and all…_

Despite that thought, a large part of her--the part she intended to keep locked away in a metal cage equipped with steel doors and adamantine locking devices until eternity had passed a thousand times over and Big Papa Time decided he needed a break--knew different. It was also the part that she kept subdued with duct tape wrapped around its big, blabbing Buffy mouth, and the part that hoped endlessly that the other Slayer felt the same attraction and reactions that assaulted her daily. It was hard work keeping that part quiet, but she often told herself that if she ignored it for long enough, the voice would get tired of screaming. _Oh, who am I kidding? It's _me_ we're talking about here. 'Buffy Summers? Pretty girl, but stubborn as they come.' I so pity my mother…_

The blonde continued scribbling thoughtlessly in her notebook. Eventually, Mrs. Roth just moved on without her.

When the bell finally rang, signaling the end of the class that never seemed to go right for her, Buffy took a moment to survey her handiwork. They were adequately detailed notes, for the most part, but apparently Chemistry took the slip near the end. She sighed. _What a wonderful student I am._ Her paper, in order of subtopic, read: Metals, Nonmetals, Metalloids, Noble Gases, Chemical Reactions--dropping to a brief exclamation of, 'OMG! Bananas! XD' after explaining how potassium reacted violently to water--then Faith, heart, heart, heart, heart, heart, heart, more hearts than she could count, and then an 'I heart Faith,' scrawled tidily in their midst. She rolled her eyes at herself. _Great. Just great. _She stuffed the paper into her notebook and gathered her things. _If I start seeing her face on the periodic table, I'm going to scream._

She moved toward the gateway to freedom that always seemed too far away, slowed by her fellow classmates.

Willow caught up with the blonde just as she passed through the threshold of the door. "Hey, Buff," she said, but Buffy appeared not to have heard her. Willow frowned. _Well... it doesn't look like she's just ignoring me... Something's obviously got her attention, judging by the look on her face_, the witch reasoned. _Still--best friend here! _Raising a hand in front of the Slayer's face, she asked, "Anybody home?"

Buffy halted abruptly, regarding the pale hand in front of her face with infinitely shocked bemusement. _What the…? _She classified the obviously feminine hand as Willow's after a moment of analysis. Soon after, her brain caught up with the fact that the other girl had been trying to get her attention while she was lost in her own mind. In an effort to save herself, she latched onto the witch's question once she processed it, but of course, it just so happened that she interpreted it wrong. Visibly confused, she turned to face the redhead. "Of course no one's home. My mom's at work, Will. You know that."

The redhead sighed. "Apparently not," she muttered. _If I didn't know any better, I'd _swear_ she was crushing on someone_, she thought, shaking her head. _She's never this out of it unless there's a big man hunk to drool over… but Angel is gone and she hasn't said anything about a new potential interest--unless there's someone I don't know about! Is she hiding him from me? She better not be! I'm the best friend--I need to know this stuff! It's a best friend rule! Didn't she read the handbook?_ Finally, after pausing to think things through rationally, the redhead calmed down. _Okay, I have no proof that Buffy's got a new boyfriend… but there's gotta be something!_ She sighed, tucking a lock of crimson hair behind her ear and adjusting her hold on her Chem book out of habit. "Are you okay, Buffy?" she asked hesitantly.

Buffy frowned slightly at the question. _Damn Will's perceptiveness… Ha! Big word! Go, Buffy!_ Attempting a confused expression instead of the agitated look of distress that threatened to cross her face at being found out so easily, she replied, "I'm pretty sure I am. Not missing any limbs, got all my fingers and toes…" She paused to inspect her extremities, flexing an impeccably self-manicured hand for effect. "I'd say I'm in pretty good shape." She offered a winning smile.

Willow shook her head, losing the battle against the grin that conquered her lips.

Buffy inwardly cheered. _Yes! Score one for the Slayer!_

However, the redhead noticed the Slayer's satisfied smile. _Oh, you're not off the hook yet, Slayer,_ she warned silently._ I'll get it out of you sometime, even if it's the last thing I do… But jeez, I hope not. That could take forever!_

"Oh, hey--this is me!" the blonde stated, her stride broken as she came to a swift standstill.

The witch giggled. She paused alongside the blonde. "Yes. Third period English: 'a snore and a half,'" she quoted.

Buffy shook her head, face suddenly serious.

Willow raised an eyebrow. _Since when has Buffy taken English seriously?_

"No way," the blonde said ardently. She glanced around for her English Professor, monotonous, stern-faced, Mr. McCain before she continued, "More like _seven_. I can only count that high before the lights go out." She gestured to her head, referencing herself falling asleep. "Highest I've gotten is nine."

Sighing, the redhead rolled her eyes. _I knew it was too good to be true. _"You know, Buffy--"

"I know, Will," the blonde interrupted gently. "I know, believe me. I'm working on it. I promise." Earnestly emphasizing the last word, the blonde let out an inner sigh. _Okay, so maybe I won't mention my below-C-average…_

The redhead nodded as the warning bell rang. "Alright. I'll see you at lunch," she said, to which the Slayer agreed.

Buffy smiled as she followed the witch's retreating form with her eyes, waving to the dark-haired boy that awaited her at the other end of the hall. Oz nodded in return, which was the best acknowledgement she could hope for from the mellow guitarist, and Xander rounded the corner, offering his own grin and wave only moments later. The Slayer waved and smiled similarly.

Exerting all of the Slayer will power she could muster at the time, Buffy entered Mr. McCain's Hell Domain slowly. The stern old man raised a bushy, peppered eyebrow at her entrance, glancing up from his book, which was a literal stretch for a literature fanatic like him, and Buffy smiled hesitantly in return. _He better not have heard my promise, or I'm in trouble… _

However, instead of heading towards her seat, the tiny blonde meandered toward the professor's desk.

Mr. McCain raised pale blue eyes from his book questioningly. "Yes, Ms. Summers?"

"Can I go to the library?" she asked abruptly, thoughtlessly, afterwards suppressing a confused shake of her head. _What?_

The old man's brow furrowed. "Whatever for?"

"Well, I was hoping I could work on that essay that's due next week," Buffy replied, without even the smallest hint of hesitation. _Oh, my God. Where is this all coming from? What happened to, 'I'm going to try harder,' huh?_

The professor was rightly a bit dubious, as the blonde had never before shown a proactive attitude towards assignments in his class, but he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Retrieving the library pass from his desk drawer and making sure to search the girl's eyes thoroughly, he finally relinquished it. Buffy smiled and accepted the pass. "Take your time," he said. Not even a moment later, he added, "But please, be back by the bell."

"Sure thing," the blonde replied easily. She turned and headed out of the classroom, shaking her head as she disappeared from Mr. McCain's view. _Autopilot_, she thought blankly._ I have autopilot. _Rolling her eyes, she continued, _Okay, so, maybe it's not such a pro-education autopilot, but… I have autopilot! Autopilot that doesn't fail and crash and burn!_

She found herself standing, frozen, outside the library sooner than she expected, staring blankly at the doors, immobile, a striking paralysis gripping her bodily. Her mind was racing--losing the marathon against her heart, but racing nonetheless--teetering on the jagged edge of overheating and backfiring. Despite that, the rational notion of actually entering the library had yet to occur to the little blonde Slayer. She was much more interested with the seemingly pterodactyl-sized butterflies performing daring aerial dives and swoops within her stomach. That, and the fact that she didn't like how openly the oaken doors appeared to mock her courage. _I'm not afraid to go in there--stupid door! You don't know anything. I'm a Slayer. I'm not afraid. I'm just--hey, I am _so_ not nervous! Just… a little… anxious? Yeah, that's it…_

The tiny Slayer took a deep breath. She could feel Faith's presence like a palpable force on the other side of the door. A million and one different sensations and emotions bombarded her. Warmth, love, longing, need, strength, power, seduction all blended into one enormous mass of tension in her stomach, and her first instinct was to flee like a bat out of hell before it consumed her completely. Amazingly enough, she managed to keep from running. _Okay, Buffy, you can do this. It's fine. It's just Faith. _She rolled her eyes, sighing exasperatedly and running a shaky hand through her hair in agitation. _Yeah, it's just Faith all right… Faith; the one who makes you feel like this in the first place! Ugh. Just go. Now._

Boldly, she pushed the doors open and strode in.

_I hope I look okay,_ she began inwardly, but before that single thought could escalate into another inward rant, she was startled by a sudden, hollow thud, flinching minutely at the noise, which seemed almost the equivalent of a door slamming to her sensitive ears, and scanning the library quickly for the source. After a moment, she realized that it was Faith.

The brunette Slayer had flinched as well, but for a different reason. Visibly tensed, she sported a muted, but noticeable grimace of discomfort, the six-and-a-half pound book she had been previously holding having fallen from her hand to crash down rather violently upon her toes. Miraculously, she managed to swallow her groan of pain by clenching her jaw tightly. Biting down hard on her lower lip, she exhaled slowly through her nose and forced an uncomfortable smile to cover it.

Through her pain and strained smile, she ground out a tense, wavering, and completely embarrassed, "Hey, Buffy."

The blonde grimaced in sympathy, but the intense urge to smile nearly won out. _Oh, my God, she's so cute! Even when she's in pain. _She could plainly see the smothered agony lingering in Faith's expressive chocolate eyes, though it was obvious that the other girl was working hard to hide her discomfort. _No, _especially_ when she's in pain--and trying so hard to cover it up… _Eventually, the smile did defeat Buffy's frown as Faith groaned and dropped ungracefully to one knee, moving the offensive book to the side and tenderly massaging her injured foot, able to keep herself from whimpering out loud by sheer power of will.

Before she had even taken the time to think about it, Buffy was hurrying toward the other girl, joining her on the floor, letting out an _oh-my-god-you're-adorable _type of, "Awh," along the way. Reaching out, she let her hand fall to rest on top of Faith's gingerly. Dark mocha eyes lifted slowly, intense above a pained grimace, finding a pair of shimmering, iridescent hazel awaiting her, alight with the blonde's sad amusement. Buffy exhaled a shallow breath. _Oh, God. She's going to be the death of me… _she thought. _Why does she have to be so cute? _Sighing inwardly, she shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" she asked, offering the embarrassed Slayer a soft smile of her own.

As some of the feeling returned to her toes, Faith nodded slowly, though she was much more focused on the tiny smile the blonde was sending her way. _God, she's beautiful… She's perfect… She's… _She swallowed the lump in her throat, eyes caught on the almost teasing, but innocent glint in her eyes. _She's going to be the death of me,_ she thought, unconsciously mimicking her fellow Slayer. "Just… surprised me is all," she said quietly, surprised she remembered the question to answer it. Just as she was about to resume the task of rubbing her foot, she paused, glancing down. Suddenly, the blonde's hand was very heavy on top of her own. The warmth began to seep into her skin as a near-blistering heat. _I'm going to die,_ she thought._ My hand is going to combust, my heart is going to explode, my lungs are going to collapse, and I'm going to die. I'm going to die, and it'll be amazing._ _God, I love this girl._

The blonde Slayer inwardly kicked herself. _Of course you surprised her, Buffy, you idiot! You came bursting in here like you were in a friggin' nineteen-hundreds western saloon, for Pete's sake--what the hell did you think would happen? It's not like she'd be in here waiting for a shootout, guns drawn and tumbleweeds rolling!_ Frowning in mild embarrassment, Buffy avoided the brunette's eyes, trusting Faith's Slayer hearing to catch her when she mumbled a barely audible, "Sorry."

Faith shook her head. "It's okay," she muttered in return, glancing up briefly. However, she found her eyes fixed in a stare with a warm pair of hazel eyes, and she was unable to look away. _Stop staring, Faith,_ she commanded herself. _You're going to freak her out._

Buffy wasn't in any better shape than her brunette counterpart, having a hard time of getting herself to look away from the deep, deep brown eyes that were only a few inches away. The urge to lean forward was so intense that she almost began to move. _Oh, my God, _she thought incredulously._ You were about to kiss her! Stop it, Buffy! You're going to scare the poor girl away! God, she has such enticing lips… Ugh. Stop it! _Shortly thereafter, she decided that she argued far too often with herself to be considered healthy.

"So, Giles set you to work, huh?" the blonde asked suddenly, seemingly out of the blue. _Wait--what? Oh, no! The autopilot! It's back! _She frowned, shaking her head. _I'm starting to think it's going to get me in trouble one day…_

Faith blinked, momentarily forgetting about her nearly-amputated toes. "Huh?"

Buffy fought to hide her smile at the other girl's dumbfounded look. In her mind, her infatuated grin wasn't muted in the slightest, the unabashed inner crushing-girly-girl Buffy gushing, _Could she be any cuter? _Covering quickly, the easily-embarrassed outer Buffy gestured toward the book. "That's Giles' 'since you're in my library, do something productive' book," she said. "He pulls it out if he even gets the tiniest feeling that you might have time to relax--especially if you're sleeping. Trust me. I've had it literally _tossed_ at me several times." She inwardly flinched at the memories, but she shook them away. _God, if I was any more spastic, I'd be bordering on coming down with the Rosenberg-Babble Syndrome… How much of a dork am I? _she almost pouted. _But I can't help it! She's so cute! How could anyone look at her and not fall completely in crush with her? It's impossible. Especially with that look on her face..._

The brunette didn't seem to notice Buffy's dilemma, glancing down at her foot. "Oh, right…" she muttered, realizing that she should be retrieving the book. Hastily picking it up before Giles' super Text-In-Distress sense kicked in and he came bursting in, much like Buffy had, to whoop some Slayer ass, she brushed it off, holding it listlessly in her hands. She turned back to Buffy sheepishly, finally registering the blonde's words. "No, I… I was just… bored. I don't think Giles even knows I'm here yet. I haven't seen him at all this morning." She held back a sigh. _Smooth, Faith. Very smooth. Idiot. _Inwardly shaking her head, she directed her last thought at the oblivious blonde beside her, pondering her answer. _Why can't I think when I'm around you? _she asked silently.

Buffy cocked her head to the side in confusion. _Giles always knows when someone's taking up space in his library, _she thought. _He's almost creepy that way. _However, as she was pondering his whereabouts, she realized that she couldn't feel anyone else in the library with them. _Huh. Oh, well. Snyder must have dragged him to a meeting or something. _She brushed it away altogether, letting the oddity of the situation slide.

"Well, you know Giles," she said, shrugging dismissively. "He's probably off somewhere."

Faith nodded silently. She gave her foot a last get-well-soon rub. Finally confident that her toes would be able to withstand the pressure of her weight, she slowly worked her way into a standing position, testing her weight on her injured foot. Buffy didn't bother to move, too intent on making sure that she could stand. Faith looked down at her, able to feel the same pterodactyls using her stomach as a bounce house as Buffy had earlier. She resisted the urge to press a hand to her stomach in an attempt to physically calm it, lest the other girl think she was injured there as well, offering the smaller Slayer a helping hand instead.

Buffy offered a small smile, accepting the brunette's hand happily, almost to the point melting inside. _Okay, so it's creepy to obsess over touching her like this, but I don't care._

As Buffy grasped her hand, the brunette took a deep breath. _Why do I do this to myself?_ she asked herself, trying her best to ignore the tingling sensation that spread like wildfire through her hand at the contact of skin against skin. It seemed to her as if the blonde was a being made of fire, molten heat, and one day she would burn her completely--though she wouldn't have much of a complaint were that to happen. She sighed. _I'm in so much trouble._

Stepping forward gingerly after regretfully letting the blonde's hand drop from her own, the brunette limped slowly toward the table she had been aiming for before the blonde had entered the library. She placed the book on the table, exhaling a sigh. _Stupid book,_ she muttered inwardly, turning back to look at her silent counterpart.

Buffy frowned as she watched Faith walk to the table, acutely aware of the limp in her step. _Good going, Buffy. You hurt her. _She sighed sadly as Faith turned to face her. _Idiot. The biggest idiot in the universe. That's what you are._ "I'm really sorry about your foot," she reiterated, grimacing, embarrassed and dejected.

Faith shrugged dismissively. "It's okay," she assured her, offering a hesitant smile. "It'll be good as new in a few minutes."

Buffy nodded agreeably, though the assurance didn't help her mindset much. _Good job, Buffy,_ she continued berating herself._ Bravo. Bravo._

_Don't frown, don't frown… _Faith urged silently, but it didn't seem to help, as the blonde's brow began to furrow, her bottom lip pouting just the slightest bit. A wave of disappointment washed over the smaller Slayer, her withdrawal written clearly on her body._ Oh, why do you have to frown?_ Faith thought desperately. _I hate seeing you sad. _Frantically, the brunette searched for a solution. _Make her smile, you idiot! _she commanded. _How in the world do I do that? Uhm… jokes! Yeah. Jokes work. What jokes? _The Slayer spoke after a moment of fruitless contemplation, figuring she could just work as she went, and if anything at all the tinier Slayer could just laugh because she ended up making a complete fool of herself.

"Hey, come on, B, it's okay," she attempted softly, raising a gentle hand to Buffy's elbow and hoping to the Powers That Be that the blonde didn't mind. Buffy raised sad hazel eyes to the awaiting dark chestnut pair. She was secretly reveling in the other girl's touch once more, the pterodactyls having returned as well, but she was sure not to let her face betray what that little inner Buffy was threatening to expose. Faith smiled hopefully at the tiny Slayer. _Remember, just make a fool of yourself. She'll laugh at that, right?_

"I mean, if worse comes to worst I could just cut it off and become a pirate or something," the brunette admitted easily, though the idea wasn't truly as appealing as it sounded. "A peg leg wouldn't be too bad…" she continued, shrugging, "and I'm sure I could find an eye patch somewhere around here…"

Buffy laughed quietly, shaking her head. _That a horrible idea... __but she's trying so hard to make me feel better, _she thought._ Not that it's not working or anything, 'cause I think that smile would have worked all on it's own... _She studied the awkward grin that had commandeered the brunette's lips. _Cuteness like that should be illegal. And so should mindless ogling. _After inwardly reprimanding herself, she decided to speak. _Now that I've wasted forever just staring at her, you know, I might as well answer her. She probably thinks I'm some kind freak. Ugh. _"I don't think you'd have much fun slaying with one leg and one eye…" she said quietly.

Faith nodded thoughtfully. _That's true--but she laughed before. She laughed! Sure, it was a tiny laugh, but she's a tiny girl, and... shut up, Faith. She laughed! It worked! _

The brunette shrugged dismissively. "Well, yeah… but with a wooden leg, I could sharpen it," she proposed, ignoring the fantasticality of it. "One drop kick and _poof! _Dust."

Buffy continued to laugh. "Good idea," she admitted, chuckling to herself, but she sighed inwardly. _Great. _She watched Faith shrug awkwardly once more, smiling to herself. _She's cute _and_ funny. Just my luck. _As Faith laughed nervously, the blonde bit her lip. _If you weren't crushing before, you definitely are now. Buffy Summers, you are in so much trouble._

* * *

So, is it better now that it's finished?


	2. Consequential Abuse

Okay, so I know it's been a long, long time since I've updated this, and I'm super sorry about it. I've just been trying to adjust to summer and all this fun stuff called freedom, so I'm kind of at a loss. Anyway, I hope that after all this time it doesn't completely suck now. It's a little slow on the build-up to the fluffy relationshipness, but it's going somewhere, I promise! It might take a while to get there, but... it's like Buffy said in Chosen. It's cookie dough, and it's not done baking. If I'm generous enough, you can all enjoy warm, delicious cookie Fuffy at the end. Heh.

(By the way, yes, I know, I know, Faith was extremely out of character in the first chapter, and she will continue to be as such, because I'm instilling a change here. I'm thinking instead of being loudmouthed and rash, all her struggles forced her inward into a more hesitant and introspective example of teenage angst. Hopefully, Buffy snaps her out of it sometime. That's the plan anyway. And also, I completely _despise_ chapter one, so, if it was up to me, it would be gone, or at least rewritten mercilessly, but people seemed to like it, so... I guess I'll deal. Maybe this one will be better. And, I'm also sorry for skipping out on the second half of the library fluff. Had I thought everyone would enjoy a lesson in F. Scott Fitzgerald, I would have written the scene out, but it seemed rather unnecessary.)

Okay, I think I've wasted enough time now. So, without further adieu, on to chapter two!

* * *

Buffy sighed wistfully as she exited the library, the pass she had begged from Mr. McCain hanging listlessly in her fingers. Though her interaction with Faith in the library had begun rather awkward, by the end, it seemed that things had caught the next rocket launch to the moon and decided to have a party. True, the two of them hadn't spent their time together in quite the way the blonde had thought or hoped they would, but she was starting to believe that things had worked out that way for the best. That nifty little autopilot setting she'd discovered in herself turned out to be pro-education after all.

At least, she liked to imagine that were the case. That some part of her _knew_ that, after only one mention of her fruitless attempts at understanding contemporary English literature, the brunette Slayer would immediately offer her help, and, only half an hour after that, as the two sat together, hunched over the table usually reserved for the Scoobies' research parties, The Great Gatsby would finally start to make sense to her. It would have been incredible had she really known it would happen that way, but the truth was, she hadn't had the slightest idea. Why couldn't the good old PTB send her prophetic Slayer dreams about miracles like that? Violent deaths and torturing galore, but not a single fluffy nibble. No e-mail, no post-it; not a thing. Seriously, if she'd have known she was going to be spending an extra half an hour with the girl of her dreams, she might have taken the time to dress up a little more.

The life of a Slayer truly was unfair. However, she decided she wouldn't let it get to her, instead replaying the past blissful thirty minutes in her mind once again.

In truth, the younger Slayer had effectively thrown her for a loop. Even though she had known since she met her that Faith was intelligent for her age, the brunette was full of endless surprises._ Which is _so_ not a bad thing_, the older Slayer decided._ Surprises are fun. Sooner or later, I'm going to find out that she's secretly amazing at Algebra too. And Chemistry, and History, and Psychology, and that dance game I can never do right at the arcade in the mall__…_ In the midst of her praise of the brunette, she was struck with a brilliant idea. _Oh! I should totally get her to tutor me! I'd have perfect grades then. Why does everything make sense when _she_ explains it?_

_Well, almost everything,_ she corrected herself, mood momentarily darkened._ But that Gatsby dying thing came out of nowhere. And it was totally lame anyway._

While on that train of thought, the blonde was proud to say that, other than failing to comprehend the title character's death, she hadn't made a complete fool of herself in the midst of their scholastic exercises. Granted, it took a while for certain things to click, yes, but Faith was patient, and Buffy was nothing if not ecstatic to sit still like a good little Slayer and listen to her go over the details once more. Despite feeling rightly a bit out of place at first, as the two had never been alone together anywhere but a graveyard, as time came to a close, they were slowly sinking into the world of all things comfortable. Buffy was secretly elated to note that the brunette had even been able to look into her eyes for over two whole seconds before she flushed and dropped her eyes back to the mystifying text.

After such a phenomenon, saying their goodbye had been a formidable struggle. It was by sheer strength of will that the senior Slayer managed to drag herself out of the library, and only after her soft-spoken counterpart quietly reminded her that she was supposed to be back in class before the bell. Despite the disappointment she felt at having to leave the brunette behind--though whether it was better or worse that Giles wasn't there to keep her company, she couldn't decide--Buffy was unable to rid herself of the jovial smile that had commandeered her lips, her head high in the clouds as she made her way back to class.

Turning the corner at the end of the hall, the blonde continued on her way, oblivious to her surroundings, letting her feet carry her blindly. _I have to get her to come over sometime,_ she resolved as she neared the end of her trek._ Mom's going to love her! I mean, she got me to do my homework without even threatening to tie me down first! _(Sadly enough, Buffy had actually endured the threat before, and from more than just her mother.) _If I'm lucky, mom will kidnap her and force her to live in the basement and enslave her into enslaving me into doing my homework and I can keep her and love her and call her mine__…_ In her current euphoria, the creepiness of the thought didn't bother her, and she only smiled to herself at the absurdity of the idea. _And people thought a second Slayer would only cause problems…_

Arriving at her destination, Buffy entered the classroom just as the bell rang. She paused in the doorway to cast an annoyed glare at the obnoxious box on the wall before turning her eyes to her professor sheepishly, who only raised a curious eyebrow at her appearance. _Well, I kind of made it back before the bell_, she attempted to reason._ Before it finished ringing, at least. That should count for something, right? _She could sense an impending reprimand hovering on the horizon, but, never one to just lay down and cry about it, she prepared herself for battle. _I can at least try to make an effort to save myself. What's a Slayer got if not her stubborn obstinacy and persistence? _Inwardly, she smiled. _Oh, Will would be so proud__…_

She moved towards the old professor's desk, extending the pass she had run off with for the entire class period over colossal pile of books and papers before him. "Sorry, Mr. M," she said quietly, employing a practiced, tried-and-true, talking-her-way-out-of-trouble contriteness. _Ready, and__…__ cue the miraculous excuse! _She forced a pleasantly surprised, yet still apologetic smile. "When you get down into it, Gatsby's really engrossing."

_Man, oh, man, if Will could hear me now! It'd be like my kindergarten graduation all over again..._

Mr. McCain accepted the pass from the tiny blonde apprehensively. In truth, he hadn't expected her to be back on time, and yet, there she was, beaming, and she had actually remembered the correct title of the book this time. "Your research was helpful then?" he asked, on the verge of a dumbfounded short-circuit. In his struggle to comprehend the sudden turn of events, he ignored the fleeting farewells of the other students passing his desk.

The blonde pouted inwardly. _Jeez, does _no one_ around here trust me to be a good student? _Shaking off her huffiness, she decided she might as well completely floor the old man since she'd already knocked him off his feet. "Oh, yeah, I really get it now, Mr. M," she said proudly, smiling. "I mean, F. Scott Fitzgerald is so brilliant! Can you believe all the stuff he was able to get in there? The culture of the roaring twenties, the ideals of the rich and the poor and their cheating spouses--it's like a history lesson, but without the boring parts!" She watched with satisfaction as the dumbfounded expression grew to complete and utter amazement.

"Gatsby was great though, wasn't he?" she continued. "How he made his own image out of nothing and his never-ending hope in Daisy's green light across the bay…" Pausing for dramatic effect, she finished, "It's really inspiring, you know?"

Mr. McCain remained silent for a moment, able only to blink in his overwhelming surprise. "Why… why, yes, it is…"

_Ah, I totally got him!_ she silently cheered. Though she felt the prodigious urge for a victory dance rising within her, she remained still, instead concentrating on smothering the next urge that happened to befall her--to chuck the nearest object at the bell when it began to ring once more. _You think they'd be a little more considerate, you know. I save their butts, and how do they repay me? By deafening me! I need these ears, people! _Abruptly, she shrugged off her annoyance. After spending an incredible half hour with Faith, then working the miracle of flooring old Mr. McCain, her spirits were too high to be dragged down, especially by something as meaningless as a school bell. "Well, I have to go Mr. M. Thanks again!" she called, already halfway out the door.

Once she hit the hallway, the blonde didn't bother to hide her satisfied smile. _Oh, man, how great is today? _she marveled blissfully, high enough that she just might have started skipping down the corridor. _Substitute Snooze Session in first hour, an amazing free fifth hour, and now, I just totally proved to that old grouch that I know my stuff after all! Next thing you know, they'll be serving a combo deal on chicken tenders and Mexican pizza at lunch! Ooh--Mexican pizza__…__ Yum._

As Buffy continued on her way, oblivious, a suspicious redhead fell into step with her--but this time the blonde noticed.

Turning to her best friend with a wide smile and sparkling eyes, the Slayer welcomed her warmly. "Hey, Will."

_Okay, this is getting scary,_ the witch decided. _First she's all introspective-girl and now she's smiling like… like… like an I-don't-know-what. We definitely need to have a talk about this. _However, the redhead smiled back at her friend. "Hey, Buff," she replied easily. For her own benefit, she remained apparently unbothered on the surface. Inside, she was using it to scheme her way into Buffy's mind. _Good old-fashioned psychology should do the trick_, she concluded_._ After all, the older Slayer never was apt at avoiding your average variety mind tricks. The redhead almost rolled her eyes. _Toss her in front of a horde of demons hog-tied a__nd she'll magic herself out of it like Harry Potter on speed, but face her with a little reverse-psychology and she caves__… Unbelievable. _"You're looking mighty cheerful," she ventured casually.

The only response the redhead received was a happy nod and a soft hum of agreement as the blonde continued walking.

_Well, that didn't go quite the way I wanted it to__…_ Willow thought. She frowned, disappointed. _Okay. Round two. And here's where we make ourselves obvious._

"Might I ask why that is?" she asked, hoping for a more detailed response the second time around.

Buffy grinned. "No reason," she began nonchalantly, shrugging. "Other than the fact that I'm going to soar right on through that essay that's due in Mr. McCain's class next week!" Her excitement rose with every word, and she even executed a graceful soaring motion to follow it, closing her eyes blissfully. _Jeez. This is even better than when I was hooked up to that morphine drip last month__…__ Check it out. An endorphin rush, and I didn't even do anything!_

The witch crossed her arms over the textbook she carried. _Okay, things like that have been known to make Buffy happy on occasion__… but not this happy. _She inwardly stomped her foot. _That's it. She's got a boyfriend and she didn't tell me! How could she? I'm the best friend here! We tell each other these things and then giggle about them for the days to come! It's like code or something! Punishable by law! Who does she think she is, breaking the rules of BFFness?_ The redhead slanted a glare at her oblivious best friend._ It's a good thing I told Oz and Xander to go to lunch without us, 'cause she is in _so_ much trouble!_

Abruptly, as if, somehow, miraculously, the blonde in question had heard her thoughts, she opened her eyes, taking a moment to glance around suspiciously. _Huh. That's weird. The terrible two should have been right behind us__… _Yet, the two boys were nowhere in sight. Confused, Buffy turned to Willow, who was trying her best to appear innocent, aware that the Slayer had probably caught on to their general aloneness. "Will," she began slowly, "where are Oz and Xander?"

_Oh, drats. __I've been had__…_ The redhead sighed._ Well, tough luck. It needs to be done. _Taking Buffy's arm with a grimace, cocktailed of shame and embarrassment, she began to lead her down an adjoining hallway. _I can't physically beat her into telling me, but I'll be darned if she gets away with this!_

The blonde let herself be dragged along, and, admittedly, she was almost afraid, and more than a little nervous. She squeaked out a quiet, "Will?"

Willow took a deep breath and shook her head. _Okay, a scared Slayer is definitely of the bad__… _she thought sadly, but steeled herself despite her guilt. _She deserves it._ "I'm sorry, Buffy," she replied without looking back. Continuing down the hallway, she marched as if on a mission, trekking endlessly and tirelessly--tugging along a hundred and thirteen pounds of pure supermuscle that could pummel her into a big sopping heap of Willow-mush faster than she could blink. _Now that I think about it, this is kind of dangerous__…_ she was scared to realize,_ but who'd have thought? Little old Willow dragging the Slayer down the hallway__… I feel kinda powerful._ "But it's for your own good," she finished, half trying to convince herself as much as she was Buffy.

_Oh, no__… _The blonde blanched. "What? This isn't another Council test, is it?" Her voice was high with agitation and fear. Without waiting for an answer, she wrenched her arm free of Willow's light grasp and rooted herself in place, red-faced and borderline outraged. "I just barely survived the last one!" she exclaimed.

The witch bit her lip, not yet ready to face the Slayer. She wished she could be sympathetic to Buffy's worries and reassure her, but her wounded trust wouldn't allow her to do so. _I'll apologize after she tells me the truth_, she decided, and then her emotion took over. _But I can't just let her sweat the entire way__… Besides, she's causing a scene. _She took Buffy's arm once more, catching her eye briefly in the midst of the crowd that had turned to watch them. "Relax, Buffy. This has absolutely nothing to do with the Council," she promised. The torn look on Buffy's face threatened to ruin her plan._ Gosh, being mean is hard work__… _

Buffy, for her part, was beyond bewildered by that point, and as such, the redhead had no problem steering her wherever she wanted to go.

_Okay, so, good, euphoric, butterfly-in-the-tummy, happy mood? Officially ruined now_, the blonde whined inwardly. Consumed by her thoughts, she barely bothered to pay attention to the passing surroundings, and even less to the strange looks that turned in their direction the farther they went. _What the heck is going on?__ Will's never been this demanding__… _Suddenly, fear gripped her. _Oh, no! Maybe she's possessed! Maybe she's a vampire! But, wait__… we're in sunlight__… Whoa. When did we get outside? That's even weirder. Okay. I'm officially freaking out now. In fact, I'm starting to fear for my life. What happened? Did I die and take the wrong train to Hell? Am I in some weird, backward alternate reality where I die at the hands of a scrawny redhead who has trouble lifting her own backpack sometimes?! _

Suddenly, the blonde found that her body had stopped moving, and Willow was fixing her with the deadliest version of Resolve Face she had ever encountered. She flinched. _Wow. Who knew Will could look so scary? _Despite having dragged her all that way, the redhead said nothing, and Buffy was sure that was infinitely more dangerous than having the witch yell at her. Finally, she squeaked out her first question, laughing nervously, unable to endure the silence. "What's going on, Will?"

The redhead didn't reply. Tension augmented into something far more menacing; green eyes grew increasingly intense. The blonde tensed herself, expecting some sort of a physical blow to befall her body, perhaps a nice right hook to the face--but the redhead poked her hard in the shoulder instead.

_Oh, see, there you go! You let me know when I'm going to be in pain, but you can't give me the heads up to dress a little nicer? _She inwardly shook her fists up at the Powers That Be. However, bodily, the Slayer recoiled, pressing a hand gingerly to the damaged spot just under her collarbone. "Ow..." She appeared wounded, and, in truth, she was. _That actually really hurt__… _she thought, frowning. _Note to self: don't make Willow mad. _"Will? What the--?"

"You're keeping a secret from me!" the angered witch exclaimed, effectively cutting her off, pointing her jabbing finger threateningly in the blonde's face.

To anyone who knew the pair and their relation strength-wise, they would have laughed as Buffy visibly cowered. _A secret?_ she questioned incredulously._ That's what this is all about? Are you serious? _Continuously rubbing her injury, she tried to lighten the mood, hoping to appease the redhead. "Jeez, Will. All this for a secret?"

Willow glowered. "You bet your little derrière all this for a secret!" She raised a hand angrily in one of those agitated motions females often perform. "So, who is he, huh? The new quarterback? Some kid you met online? That hot Java guy at the Espresso Pump? Who, Buffy?" She placed her hands on her hips expectantly.

_Wow. She's almost as scary as mom when she does that__… but what the hell is she talking about? _The blonde remained silent, trying to work out whatever it was that the redhead possibly could have meant, but she was decidedly unsuccessful. "Uhm... can I get a definition?" she asked blankly. _For some reason, I'm thinking she's not asking about that guy who requested me on Myspace the other day__…_

_Don't play dumb with me, Slayer! _the witch growled inwardly. _Now if I could only say that out loud, I'd be good. _Instead, she poked the blonde once more, frightened that Buffy's whimper of pain and surprise actually satisfied her. _This needs to stop__… and soon. _"You! You're hiding him from me, aren't you? Why, Buffy?"

The Slayer forgot all about her injury. In reality, the situation was almost comical. "Willow, seriously, what are you talking about?" She exhaled a short laugh, but immediately stifled it as her shoulder gave an angry throb, warning her not to provoke the redhead again. _Jeez. I think it's even bruising already__…_

"You're supposed to tell me these things, Buffy!" Willow exclaimed, though much of the volume was attributed to her frustration rather than anger. Her Slayer was slipping away from her more and more as the days passed, it seemed, and though she really didn't want to blame the newest addition to the group for it, Faith was definitely a contributor. _I bet she told Faith about him,_ she thought sadly. _They have so much in common, and I'm just nerdy little Willow__… __Well, you know what, if she won't tell me by herself, I'll make her tell me. There's no way I'm going to lose my best friend. _Amidst all her inward rambling, barely a millisecond had passed, something she never truly understood, as it should have been impossible for the human mind to race as fast as hers did sometimes, but it didn't set her off even a beat. "When you get a new boyfriend," she continued smoothly, earning a slow blink from her blonde counterpart, "you're supposed to tell me so we can laugh and talk about how cute he is and giggle like preteen girls and--"

"Whoa! Whoa. Hold up, Will," Buffy commanded gently, raising her hands in a classic time-out signal and then dropping them to Willow's shoulders as if to steady her. _Where in the world is she getting this from? _The idea was so ludicrous that the blonde actually began to chuckle, fear of another poke be damned. "Boyfriend?"

The redhead met her eyes coldly. "Yes, boyfriend. You know, that thing you're hiding from me? Boyfriend would be the correct term nowadays."

Buffy's chuckle grew into the laughter of amused incredulity. _Okay, really. Are people spreading rumors about me and that sleaze Jason again or something? _She shook her head and attempted to calm herself to the point that made speaking possible. "What's got it in your head that I have a boyfriend?" she asked, and she was honestly intrigued because, as far as she knew, she hadn't been projecting any of the trademark I've-got-a-new-boyfriend signs. _Okay, so, it's possible that some of the I've-got-the-biggest-crush-on-someone might have slipped through, but definitely no new-boyfriend symptoms__…_

Without waiting to think about it, the redhead launched herself right into the evidence, brushing away the blonde's hands and pacing as she began her verbal assault. "Oh, well, let's see," she began, (nearly hysterically, the Slayer noted as she stood stock-still and silent while watching her). "You were zoning in Chemistry, and, though that's not unusual, you were smiling! Which means you were thinking about someone, which means you had someone to think about! And after fifth hour, you were all happy and bouncy and you looked like you were about to start doing cartwheels down the hallway--and Buffy does not do cartwheels down the hallway just because she's going to get an A on a paper! Handsprings, maybe, but not cartwheels. I mean, for Pete's sake, Buffy--cartwheels!?"

The blonde in question remained still. _Man, I've gotta work on hiding those kinds of things__…_ she resolved._ If I'm not careful, Faith will notice and freak out and run away and I'll be all sad and Faith-less. Faithless. Ha. _While at a literal loss for words betwixt amusement and indecision, the Slayer took the time to survey her friend. The redhead appeared far more agitated than she should have been over a simple boyfriend; she was nearly shaking. _Okay, there's definitely something going on here with Will too. If she gets this out of me, I'm dragging that out of her for sure. _

Finally, the blonde decided she could make a rational sentence. "Look, Will, there's no boyfriend." The redhead looked skeptical. "Really," the Slayer reiterated sincerely. _I guess I have to tell her__. Talk about impending doom. Jeez. _She took a deep breath. "So, yeah, there's a reason for everything you just said--"

"I knew it!" the redhead interjected triumphantly, pointing in accusation once more.

The blonde continued easily, unbothered, "--but it's not what you think." _And like a balloon, she deflates,_ she remarked silently as the witch immediately lost all of the energy she had built up, her shoulders slumping under the weight of disappointment. _How cool is that? It'd be totally cooler if she was like a real balloon and her head went whirling all over the place and whistled and stuff, but still__… that's pretty neat._ Rubbing at her shoulder again after the ache of an aftershock reminded her it was there, she concocted a proposition for the redhead. "If I promise to sit down and explain everything, will you stop with all the grr and the argh?"

Willow didn't respond for a long moment, dejected. Then, quietly, she asked, "So... no boyfriend?"

The Slayer exhaled a chuckle. "Not quite." _Future, soon-to-be, in-my-dreams girlfriend? Oh, yeah._

"Darn."

Grinning, glad to see that the old Willow was back, the blonde slung an arm easily around the witch's shoulders, taking over the wheel and leading her away from their confrontation-spot, as she would officially refer to it as whenever anyone mentioned 'that spot behind the gym with the mysterious red stains on the wall.' She had no idea where she was actually taking them, but she wanted to get as far away from there as possible. _I'm never, ever going to keep anything from her ever again_, she promised herself, certain beyond a doubt that she wouldn't be taking her chances with the consequential abuse anytime soon._ She might do some real damage next time__…_

As they walked, the redhead apologized quietly, ashamed. "I'm sorry for poking you..._"_

The Slayer smiled. "Well, I'm sorry for calling you scrawny," she replied, her admission accompanied by a sheepish smile.

The redhead laughed with her, but paused a moment later. "Wait. You called me scrawny?"

* * *

And in the next chapter... **the revelation!** Dun dun dun! (laughs in a dark and evil tone)

Okay, enough with the dramatics.

I know, I know. I'm super pissed that the actual revelation wasn't in this chapter too... but if I get the next chapter up within a few days, am I forgiven? Do I get a cybercookie as a reward? Reviews at least? (begs shamelessly)

By the way, there are probably a few mistakes, and I'm sorry; if I could have read it over without wanting to change every little thing, I would have. I have the urge to now, but it's already after midnight and I'm getting too tired. Maybe I'll fix it later. I need a beta or something. It should be okay for the most part though.


	3. Diagnosis, Pt 1: Unconventional

One review for chapter two? All that 'please continue' stuff and only one review? That's actually really saddening... :(

Well, anyway, this chapter is going to be broken up into two or three parts, 'cause I'm too lazy to do it all in one. I figured it'd be easier to keep track of that way since there was so much to admit. This one probably sucks just as much as the last one, but oh well. That's what I get for writing at two thirty in the morning.

So, part of chapter three is up. Do I get my cookies now?

You know, I could care less for the cookies. Reviews would be sweet. Like amazing.

I know, I know. I'm pathetic and needy. I wear the PaN crown. But still.

If I continue and nobody says they like it, I'm assuming it sucks, and into the recycle bin it will go...

Thanks to **I am Heathcliff** though. I got my cookies after all--and Pepperidge Farm cookies at that! Fancy.

* * *

Sitting beneath a withered oak tree on the outskirts of Sunnydale High's main courtyard, a quiet Slayer stared out at her fellow students. Carefree and fearless, they chatted amiably amongst themselves; they scribbled last minute homework assignments; they sat gazing blissfully into each others' eyes; they sung along to their headphones; they giggled, they laughed, they threw things at one another--all with the ease of another simple day. They were at peace. But crisscross applesauce opposite an expectant redhead, guilty, picking at the grass below her feet and deeming herself somewhere close to seven years old again, Buffy was far from feeling the same. Surveying their actions, each of them laid-back and tranquil while she sat there, silent and strung out, despondent jealousy set her mood.

Sighing for what must have been the fifth time in the past thirty seconds, she glanced towards her best friend. Willow sat only inches away, mirroring her position, studying her patiently, as she had been doing constantly for the entire time they had been sitting there. She hadn't pushed her to talk at all during those silent ten minutes, simply waiting for the blonde to talk of her own accord, and Buffy didn't know whether it was for the better or the worse. She liked to think that if she had pressured her, she might have gotten it out. Maybe not in the best way or with the right words, but out nonetheless. Not pressuring her gave her time to think it over, and, sadly, more time to tell herself that she couldn't go through with it, an option that was growing increasingly more appealing with the passing seconds.

After a long moment, she opened her mouth in an attempt to speak, to explain what she'd been struggling with for the past ten minutes, but, unsurprisingly, the words wouldn't come. The blonde frowned once more and dropped her eyes. She tore the defenseless lawn another gap. _Why does this have to be so hard?_

In an empathetic cycle, saddened by Buffy's sadness, the witch frowned as well. Despite having sat there quietly for ten minutes--a feat she had yet to discover the miracle behind--Willow had reached the conclusion only moments into their extended silence that Buffy was scared. She moved restlessly about in her tiny personal bubble, avoiding her eyes, occasionally biting her lip. She was afraid, and, judging by the way she tore at the grass, agitated as well, but the redhead had yet to figure out the cause. She'd asked herself what it could have possibly been a good ten times or so, and still, she had absolutely no idea. Rationally thinking, whatever it was _should_ have been something good. It_ should_ have been something of the giggling and squealing and whispering excitedly variety. The Slayer had certainly been acting the part only fifteen minutes ago, and yet she hadn't been able to get a single word out since they sat down. Willow bit her lip, staring intently at the contemplative blonde, unable to stem the tide of her incessant fretting. _She should be jumping for joy, not looking like she's about to throw herself off a cliff… _

"Buffy, you're worrying me," she admitted quietly.

At that, the blonde attempted to shut out the world, blessed with only a visual darkness while she grimaced. _I know, I know… _

Opening her eyes to the shredded field of green between her knees, she shook her head, and a slow irritation began to build. _Five minutes and I had nothing to say. Ten minutes and 'I want to have Faith's babies' didn't sound right. Twelve minutes and I'm back to nothing. _Coupled with her annoyance at not being able to figure out anything to say, tension crept into her limbs. The urge to move, to pace, to tear her hair out--or, even better, to get violent with the first thing that moved--washed over her. _And this Slayer-anxiety thing isn't helping either,_ she decided, clenching her jaw. Despite her anger, soon she gathered enough courage to look up into the witch's eyes, and what she saw washed it all the tension and need to move away. The usual bright emerald hue was dark and warm with concern.

At that moment, it seemed clarity finally got the memo, for it came along to smack her in the face.

_Wait a minute_, the blonde ordered herself. At last, it all made sense. _This is Willow. This is my best friend. The girl who still sleeps with teddy bears and wears over-alls to school. The girl who decided to stick around even though she could die just because of what I am. She loves me. She would want me to be happy, no matter what it meant__…  
_

Finally able to work at a slow smile, content with the knowledge that everything would be alright, the blonde reached for Willow's hand.

The witch was relieved, yet still confused. _Okay, a smile… after silence for ten minutes__…__ How does that work exactly? Don't know. Do I really care? Nope._

With the redhead's hand securely between her own, the blonde offered a sheepish grin. _Okay, this is easy now. Now I'm getting all giggly again. Good mood is officially returning. _Happy for the moment, she let out a breath, exhaling the remnants of her negativity. "The truth is..." she began, but once more lost the will to speak.

_Oh, how lame is that? Right when I work up my nerve, I lose it. _While pouting, a somewhat familiar unsettled sensation grew within her. _Whoa. __Okay. If you get butterflies when you're I-like-someone nervous, what do you get when you're I'm-telling-someone-I-like-someone nervous? _Though she should have been working on figuring out a way to spill her heart to her best friend, the blonde paused to answer her own question. Decidedly, the feeling residing in her stomach was almost comparable to a hundred and one dalmatians running a marathon through her intestines, and it was settled at that. _I'm definitely thinking puppies_. _Little vicious rottweiler puppies__… _Clearing on her head, she brought herself back into reality. _Alright already. I've wasted enough time. It's time to get to the point. _

Miraculously continuing without missing a beat, she picked up where she left off. "I... I kind of have a crush on someone..."

The blonde smiled to herself softly then, smitten and oblivious to anything else, and Willow found it so endearing that she herself was smiling without her conscious awareness. A moment later, it was of her own accord. _I knew I was on the right track! _she cheered silently. However, amidst the party of triumph, the inner-Willow who spent her time on nothing but worrying took a personal moment to frown. _But why in the world would she want to hide a crush? What, is it one of those Calculus Club losers or something? Is she embarrassed of her love for dorkiness? I mean, come on, we've always known Buffy was a geek freak--she picked **me** over Cordelia__… and we're not mentioning __the two and a half years I spent in Calculus Club.__ She's my best friend and all, but sometimes I really do not understand her__…_

"So... what's the big deal?" the redhead asked blankly.

_And there's the million dollar question._ Buffy flushed, ever the sheepish grin pasted on her face. Just as she was thinking she was at a loss for words once again, her handy-dandy autopilot came to the rescue. "Well, uhm... it's kind of someone... unconventional." She almost rolled her eyes. _Unconventional? More like impossible._

Willow raised an eyebrow hesitantly. _Okay, so maybe it is a geek after all__… _"How unconventional are we talking here?" As Buffy paused and attempted to give it an accurate rating, the redhead could tell just by the unsure half-smile on her face that it must have been pretty out there. "So, like... band geek unconventional?" she offered, to which the blonde regretfully shook her head. "Immature freshman unconventional? Emo, cut-my-wrists-and-black-my-eyes unconventional?"

Uneasily, the blonde offered her own suggestion. "Girl unconventional?"

Willow only blinked.

Buffy grimaced. _Okay, so maybe that whole 'she'll love me no matter what' thing was just wishful thinking__…_

Motionless for a long moment, the witch made no attempt to slow the shock that sunk like a dead weight over her mind. Thick with the anesthesia of a natural depressant, it lassoed her mile-a-minute brain into a standstill, and she didn't even think to tug-o-war it back. As such, the progression of her comprehension was a slow one. _So… no boyfriend… A girl__… __friend…? Girlfriend? _Eventually, however, the hardwired Rosenberg genes won out. Though at a slow take off, her mind rocketed away, alight on a sudden adrenaline rush, hurtling into previously unknown territory with shock hauled along behind it on a kite-string. _ Girlfriend!? Since when has Buffy liked girls? Buffy's always been so__… straight. Now she__…__ was straight. Past tense, 'cause, duh, was__. Was as in 'not anymore'. So, 'not anymore' plus 'straight' equals 'not anymore straight', which equals__…__ gay. __Whoa. Weird.__ Buffy is gay. Gay equals girls. Equals relationships with girls. Equals holding hands with girls. Equals kissing girls. Buffy… kisses girls. Or__…__ wants__…__ to kiss girls. Or a girl. Buffy wants to kiss a girl. A girl. A girl. Uhm__… we're missing a part of the equation here. __The 'a girl' would be nice. _

Slowly, the witch freed herself from logical deduction. "Okay," she managed to utter, abandoned by her usual babbling articulacy. "Girl... unconventional. What girl?"

The blonde didn't bother to answer. "You hate me, don't you?"

Willow responded with a frown and a slow incline of her head. "Hate you?" she asked, her voice blank. Once again, Buffy appeared fearful, and, finally, the reason clicked. _That's why she didn't want to tell me! She was afraid I'd freak out on her for liking a girl__…__--which I'm not far from doing__…__ but not yet. Now, if she tells me she's crushing on Cordelia, I might have to never speak to her again__…_ She paused. _Oh, no__… maybe that's why she was so scared! She likes Cordelia! _Despite the fact that that thought alone was horrifying enough to completely shut her down, she decided it might be better not to jump to conclusions. _Okay, I need to know who it is for sure__… and she won't tell me if she thinks I'm freaking out__…__ So there's a point A and a point C__… we need a point B. _

After finally connecting point B to the act of reassurance, which took only a second at the most, the redhead shook her head. "No... no, Buffy," she began, physically waving it away. "This... this... this is shock." _Yeah, definitely. But jeez. She should have expected it. _"I think I'm entitled to a little bit of shock here..."

The Slayer nodded slowly. "Shock... yeah." _She hates me. She totally hates me. I just lost my best friend._

Willow sighed. The defeat darkening Buffy's eyes said it all. Shaking the blonde's hands gently, as hers still rested between them, she tried for a simple smile.

"It's okay, Buffy."

Despite the sincerity of the reassurance, the other girl didn't appear too comforted by it, and so the redhead tried again. "Really, Buff. We're good, I just... I had to process it, and it was a lot to process, and there was a whole equation and mathematics and it was really complicated..." she babbled, ending with an abrupt, yet honest, "--but it's okay." She offered the blonde another smile, and Buffy hesitantly returned it. Though it seemed like she was coming around, Willow's mind jumped right back on the fast-track to reassuring her. "I mean, it'll take a little to get used to, 'cause it's definitely not something I would have expected or anything, but... I mean... we're best friends." She shrugged easily. "I'll deal." _Wow. I really talk way too much. Sometimes I wonder how people put up with me. I mean, gosh--_

Before the redhead knew what hit her, a giddy Slayer had launched herself bodily into her arms. She found herself flat on her back, face to face with the clouds and a brilliant blue sky through a wave of golden locks gone astray, locked in a small, muscular embrace, bombarded by endless 'thank you, thank you, thank you's, and having trouble breathing. Though her laughter was a big part of it, the blonde's unwavering grip was certainly the other culprit, and it seemed that Buffy was content never to let go of her, difficulty breathing or not. For that most part, that was true, as, inside, her heart was singing eternal choruses and verses of _She doesn't hate me! She doesn't hate me! _She continued thanking the redhead until she was pushed away lightly amidst the witch's amused giggling.

As they sat up, Willow pushed her wildfire locks behind her ears and the disheveled Slayer beamed at her. "You don't have to thank me, Buffy," she assured her.

"But if you tell me it's Cordy, so help me Goddess, I'll have your mother ship you off to Christian camp!"

* * *

Just for the sake of argument, let's say it's set as modern day, because back then Willow and a Hawthorne Heights reference might have been original. And obviously no one liked the myspace and BFF references in chapter two, so... I guess I'm just one of those new age losers. Oh, well.


	4. Diagnosis, Pt 2: Guessing Games

Yes, I know. Really, I do. "Get on with it already!" Believe me, I'm waiting for it too. I'm working on it.

And I'm sorry about the delay. I've been trying, but I wasn't happy with it, and my OCD was acting up, so...

I told myself that if I didn't get it up by today I'd punish myself somehow. TG I got it finished. Lol.

Oh, and thanks so much for the reviews, guys! I'm super excited about them all. Keep them coming! XD

* * *

"And here's where it gets complicated."

Willow raised an auburn brow, skeptical. _It wasn't complicated already?_

"It's kind of… unconventional girl unconventional…"

_But any girl is unconventional__…__ That's just redundant. _"I think 'girl unconventional' covers it… but okay."

Buffy sighed. _I should have known that was coming. _

Still face to face with an expectant redhead after swearing on her life that she most definitely was_ not_ crushing on Cordelia, she found herself in much the same position she was before, cross-legged and hesitant, somewhere near being eaten alive by anxiety. She tried to tell herself that the hard part was over, that she'd already done the worst by revealing that her fatal attraction fell upon a _female_, but, oddly enough, she was still anxious. She'd yet to actually admit who the girl in question was. In her opinion, that part was equally as hard and equally as scary, and, not for the first time since they'd been sitting there, she resisted the urge to dig up a hole to bury herself in. _How about all of this is just one whole frickin' consortium of hard? Itty bitty hard parts all banded together into some giganto Transformer Megazord From Hell ready to come Mighty Morphin Power Rearrange my face until I spit out the truth. Ugh. This sucks.  
_

_And what in the world is a consortium anyway? That's way too big for my vocabulary.  
_

While she was lost in thought, the witch before continued to survey her silently, as she'd been doing for the past few moments. _Lunch is almost over,_ she thought. _She's been sitting there working this out for almost twenty minutes now. _Ever the concerned friend, she was worried to realize that, _An extended use of her brain like this without practicing or warming up could lead to problems. _Because of the risk, she'd come to a resolute conclusion. _All this thinking can't be good for her__…_

Eventually, however, Buffy shook herself free of her inner dwelling. _It's time to just get it out there. She's not freaking out yet, and it's not like I'm actually crushing on Cordelia--which is so, just, __**ew**__--so… Bible Camp is nowhere in my future__…__ as of yet. _Sighing a final time, she raised her hands in defense, growing more flustered with each word. "Look, just keep in mind that… that--you know, I totally can't help it and…" She trailed off, anxious under the redhead's amused gaze. Still ready to tear something apart to relieve her frustration, she exhaled a strained breath. "I don't know." _I really don't. _"She's just so amazing, and I get all these butterflies in my stomach whenever she's around, and it's like I'm melting inside every time I see her, and--"

Willow grinned at the Slayer's unnecessary unease. "Buffy, you're rambling," she informed her gently.

Effectively silenced, the blonde stopped to regard her, blank and defeated. _Yeah, that's something I'm good at lately__…_

_Not that it isn't nice to see someone else on the babble-bus for a change, but__…_ "Last time I checked, that was my job," the witch joked easily, smirking.

Timid at first, Buffy smiled in return, emboldened as the redhead shook her hands playfully.

"Now just tell me who it is!"

The blonde took a deep breath. "Right." Playing with the witch's hands idly, readying herself, she was once more pulled into her thoughts. _I'm going to drown in here one day,_ she decided, noted on the offhand thought that she couldn't seem to get herself out of her own head when she needed to the most. _It's definitely dangerous for me to think this much. I mean, what with the caution of spontaneous combustion and a full-out rebellion by my brain on the line--but okay, right, back to the now. Now__…__ Will looks excited.__ She's got her girl-talk smile. That's a good thing, right? Smiling generally means 'okay, keep going, I want to know who this hunk is'__… __Maybe this won't be too bad after all. _Mentally steeling herself, praying that she might finally be able to get out the truth, since it had only been a solid twenty minutes since she first tried, she began. "Okay…"--_and here's where I completely fail at life--_"well…"_--just say it!_--"it's…" _I can't do it. _She peeked up at the redhead sheepishly from underneath a single mischievous golden lock, embarrassed, a light flush accompanied by a pained grimace. "Do I get another fifteen minutes to stall?"

Willow responded with a dangerous glare.

_Should've seen that one too. _"Alright, alright…" she surrendered, dropping her eyes to stare hard at the ground between their denim-covered knees. Once more, she readied herself. "It's…" And, for what must have been the tenth time, words abandoned her. _Seriously, this is getting ridiculous_, she growled inwardly._ I'm good now. I'm in the clear. Will already said she's dealing with the fact that it's a girl; why is it so hard to tell her that it's Faith? _At the silent mention of the brunette, forgetting for a moment that she had bigger things to deal with, Buffy almost smiled. _I mean, it's not like I have any reason to be ashamed of liking her__…__ 'cause she's all deep and soulful and 'I'll totally be your female Romeo' and stuff__…__ Not to mention how she's completely gorgeous__…__ and smart__…__ and funny__…__ and has amazing lips and__…__ and__…__ and this needs to stop, or, seriously, that fatal attraction metaphor from earlier is going to become my reality--and 'crazy stalker' just doesn't work with this face__…_ She sighed heavily.

At the Slayer's sigh, the redhead frowned. _Really, is it that bad?_ she questioned silently. Surely, it couldn't have been anything more unusual and ironic than another vampire. Yet, as soon as the thought crossed her mind, boys with boils began to flash across her mind's eye, followed by a slinking Creature From the Black Lagoon; then, as the witch remembered that the blonde's new interest was a girl, a squad of radioactive cheerleaders danced their way through her head. _Okay, so, here, it's definitely a possibility, _she admitted. _But__…__ Well, sure, Buffy's had some weird boyfriends in the past from what she's told me, but she's generally had good taste__…__ and we've already went over the fact that it's not Cordelia--'cause I definitely would have hurt her by now if it was--so, things should be fine, right__…__?_

The witch frowned, unsure, and the blonde's defeated posture didn't help to assure her. _Then again, she's sitting there looking like she'd rather run off and take a bath in acid than tell me, so__… Maybe it's someone really weird. Like Anya. Or Mrs. Calendar. Gross. _Shaking her head clear of that thought in particular, she stared intently at her best friend as her concern began to rise. _But really, I'm starting to think maybe it's not human again__… I thought we were over that stage!  
_

Despite Willow's growing worry, the blonde was beginning to calm down; in her personal time, she'd been struck by a brilliant idea.

_That's it!_ inner-Buffy cheered._ It's perfect. This way, I won't have to go through the embarrassment of just saying it, and she'll find out who it is in the end__ anyway. It's Brilliant!__ Absolutely brilliant. I'm feeling borderline genius here. Nobel Prize, here I come! And Giles thinks I have no subtle tactics. Ha!  
_

"Okay," the blonde began, feeling much better about how the whole situation might turn out now that the pressure wasn't entirely on her shoulders. "How about this?" She raised her hands in her patented 'you're going to say no to me at first, but you'll give into me eventually' proposition position, and the redhead opposite her responded with a slow and dark apprehension, immediately suspicious of what might come next.

_If this is another one of her 'I'll tell you after you do this' schemes, I'll--_

"I'll give you hints and you have to guess who she is."

_Oh, that's even worse! _the witch exclaimed inwardly. _That's so cheating!_ As such, she promptly scoffed and glared at the Slayer. Despite the decidedly mild reaction the blonde had physically earned, however, one of the more outspoken of the many inner-Willow aspects was being wrestled down by her level-headed siblings, wildfire locks flying and alabaster limbs flailing as the irate redhead shook a threatening fist. _Coward!_ she screamed, silent to the the Slayer's ears. Shocked, the biggest of the Willow Bunch could only form fractions of thoughts in response. _Wow. __I sure am violent on the inside__. _She almost frowned at the revelation. _But hey, I've almost got like some cool Lizzie McGuire thing going on. Little me's floating all around my head and stuff__. Neat.  
_

Buffy's face fell into something dangerously close to a pout when the redhead threatened not to play along. "Please, Will?" she pleaded. _Please, please, please, pretty please, with Oz on top? Okay, I so did not need to think about that. _"I feel stupid just saying it…" she admitted quietly, and, oddly enough, it was a true statement. _I still don't see why, 'cause there's definitely no reason not to want to say it, 'cause she's so--okay, let's not get into that again__… For now, we'll just work our charm on Will. Right.  
_

Although, in actuality, there was no need for it, as the witch had begun to give in before she'd even finished speaking. _And she knew it was going to happen too,_ she thought darkly. Glaring in mock annoyance at the Slayer, the redhead shook her head, finally throwing up her hands in defeat as the blonde continued to stare into her eyes, gleaming hazel puppy-dog magic hypnotism abound. "Alright, alright, fine!" she caved.

The Slayer smiled triumphantly, bouncing with excitement. _Yes! _At the redhead's glare, her smiled only widened. _Oh, she loves me. Glare or not, she totally loves me.  
_

Muttering to herself while working over her huffiness, Willow crossed her arms. "I could use a challenge anyway."

Buffy beamed at her.

The redhead sighed. "First clue."

Suddenly very eager, the Slayer jumped right into action. "Okay, well…" Yet, she paused. _Wait. What do I say first? _She hadn't thought that far ahead when the idea came to her, and now that she was faced with it, there were infinite possibilities--and the execution of those possibilities seemed crucial. "Uhm…" _Well__…__ I guess__…__ the first noticeable thing about her would be__…__ oh, her eyes, definitely__…__ 'cause they're so deep and so easy to get lost in__… __but Will probably wouldn't notice that__…__ Next would be__… __her lips, I guess__…__ 'cause they're just there and all waiting for you to kiss them and__…__ well, that just sounds stalker-ish__…__ and Will probably wouldn't notice that either__…__ Uhm__… __Okay. This isn't working. Something simple. Something everyone notices. Uhm__…__ hair! Right. Hair. Her long, silky--well, I wouldn't really know if it was silky, but I imagine it has to be,__ 'cause it just looks so amazing all the time and everything__…__ I'll touch it some day, no matter how weird that sounds. But now. Hair. Clue. Spilling my heart. Okay. _

"Well, she has long brown hair…" she began, smiling as she envisioned it, "and it's kind of wavy, and sometimes it's curly." _And sometimes you just want to bury your face in it and breathe her in and hold her close and never let her go__…__ Sometimes, you know.__ 'Cause all the time would just be creepy. Definitely. No, I am not in denial. Don't argue with me. We're the same person. That's like__… slightly insane. So stop.  
_

_Long brown hair, wavy and sometimes curly__…_ The redhead took a moment the process the information._ Uhm__…__ Wow. Maybe Mrs. Calendar wasn't too far off__… but ew. __Well, it could be either Cordy or Mrs. Calendar, really__… and either of them are just kind of __gross and completely insane and worthy of being locked up for life. _She decided she'd try for the more likely of the two, however disconcerting either of them would be, and settled on Cordelia, despite the blonde's earlier promises. _'Cause I definitely don't even want to think about watching Buffy and Giles fight over Mrs. Calendar. That's past disturbing and into scarring. _"Cordy," she offered solidly.

The Slayer pulled a face. "Ew, Will! Really? Gross. That is just **so** wrong."

_It's better than the other option though__… _the witch thought, repressing a shudder.

Still sporting a thick layer of disgust, the blonde attempted to shake it away. "And we've already gone over this. It is not Cordelia. Definitely not." However, the ick-factor got the best of her, and she finished with a heavily emphasized, "Seriously, just… ew." As the lingering thoughts of the snobbish brunette threatened to ruin her mood, she literally swept them out of her mind, broom and dust pan and final 'good riddance!' included. _French accent too, though?_ she paused to question. Indeed, she had pictured herself in a frill of black lace and a plunging neckline beneath a pristine servant's apron. _Hmm. I wonder if Faith likes the whole French Maid thing__…_ But she shook her head a final time. _Buffy Summers, what would your mother say? _Not incredibly keen on finding out, she decided not to dwell on it. "Moving on. Uhm… oh! She has the most gorgeous brown eyes ever…" she continued, lost again to her dreamy characterization, as if the witch hadn't even interrupted her.

The witch pulled a face similar to the blonde's of only moments before. _I definitely wouldn't say they're gorgeous, but__…_ "Cordy."

Buffy growled. _Seriously, does she really think that little of me? Cordy--for real? Gross. _"No," she reasserted patiently. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath. _I can't even begin to think of what a relationship--if you could call it that--with Cordy would be like. Whips and chains and 'yes, mistress' for sure.__ I'd ask Xander__…__ but I kind of really do **not** want to know. Like at all. Really. Go away, thoughts. _Focusing again on the task at hand, she continued."She's a little taller than you. Maybe five six."

Willow rolled her eyes. _Yeah, and in her heels she's five seven and a half. _"Cordy."

Frustrated, Buffy mimicked her action. _Well, if this won't knock her flat on her ass, I don't know what will._ "And she's over there talking to Oz and Xander."

_And she's probably got the whole Cordette Squad gathered around laughing, so it's__… _The redhead turned to look. _**Not **Cordy._

The Slayer took a deep breath. _Here it comes._

"Faith?" the witch asked blankly, to which Buffy nodded, tense, nervous, and ready to flee once more.

For a long moment, the redhead couldn't wrap her mind around the idea. _Faith? Faith as in silent, reserved, I'll-just-sit-off-by-myself-and-not-talk-to-anyone Faith? _But, despite her incredulity, Willow didn't believe there was anything wrong with her; she'd simply never taken the time to fully assess the other Slayer. Yet, again, she questioned it, whether it was fair to base her opinion on what barely counted as data or not. _Faith? Wow. Maybe that whole Slayer bond thing is even stronger than I thought… But wow. That sure explains a lot. So, my jealousy of Faith was justified… but for the wrong reason. Then it wasn't really justified, was it? Well, it was, but not__…__ I mean__…__ Buffy likes her. She didn't tell her who she likes like I thought she did, she likes her… Oh, boy. All these likes and feminine pronouns are giving me a headache__…_

And she was silent for a long moment.

* * *

By the way, the whole guessing thing was for me, really, because _I_ felt stupid having Buffy just say it. Lol.

I'm working on getting the whole thing out though, I promise. Only two more parts… or one, if I work it right.

Then, really, it'll be on to the fluffy-Fuffy-goodness. Well, the pre-smoochie, I-really-want-to-kiss-her-goodness, at least.

(Another by the way: I know everyone's probably wondering what exactly this timeline is and what exactly happened before start of the story, so... here goes. As mentioned above, Cordy is still popular. Apparently the Cordettes didn't disown her for dating Xander, or maybe she just ran back to them after they broke up, and I'm assuming he's now with Anya, somehow. Like maybe she jumped in there really fast or something. Also, Ms. Calendar is alive, so, obviously, Angel never killed her, Buffy never had sex with him, etc... and that was just more for me than anything. Lol. I want to say Angel left about four months prior to the beginning of the story, about two months before Faith arrived and all that. Don't know why he left yet. Might reveal it later as some wacky plot twist. And, like I said before, Faith's not exactly canonical here, but oh well. Nothing is, really. For argument's sake, let's just say I threw everything in a blender and AvA is what came of it, kay?)

And, of course, you know I can't survive without reviews, so, as always... **review please? **Buffy and Faith want to get together! Help them out a little. :)


	5. Diagnosis, Pt 3: Reverberations

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I know, this is super late, and believe me, I'm beating myself up about it. My muse ran off on vacation with my will to write anything. I haven't worked on anything in like two weeks--which is super weird for me. But I'm working now! I finally decided enough was enough, so here I am, slaving away just for you guys! Seriously, if it wasn't for you, I would have dropped everything by now. Thank you all for your support and all your reviews! XD

* * *

Buffy watched the redhead carefully. While they sat, still and silent, in the grass for the remainder of the lunch period, the seconds passed as if in slow-motion, long and endless, running seamlessly into the next, new tensions arising with every breath the two girls took. Willow had been sitting immobile for over a minute, staring blank-faced at the grass in the distance just beyond the Slayer, her mind working at what must have been something comparable to warp-speed to comprehend the bit of information she'd just received, and the blonde awaiting her response was growing increasingly nervous the longer she took.

It wasn't like Willow to be quiet; working things out verbally and rambling on in that unique Will-ish dialect that was often incomprehensible to others was her forte, and as such, silence, like the one that was currently screaming violently in Buffy's ears, was generally a big giganto billboard warning of the impending badness.

_She's probably thinking of the best way to tell me she hates me,_ the defeated Slayer thought sadly. _Leave it to Will to come up with something fancy for 'you're friggin' disgusting'. _Sighing heavily, she began to pick at the grass yet again. It was proving to be her favorite activity of the past twenty minutes. She figured the lawn probably didn't appreciate it very much, and she had a feeling that the landscaping branch of the janitorial staff wouldn't either, but it gave her worrying hands something to do. She was almost certain that if they were anywhere else, her destructive motions would have turned inward, and not much would be left of her favorite pair of jeans as a result. _And, ew, how horrible would that have been?_ _Nobody wears frayed shorts anymore. _

She almost shuddered at the fashion disaster she might have caused, yet a glance back at the redhead easily overpowered it. She frowned, instantly thrown back into her little black pit of anxiety, digging more forcefully at the grass. _She hates me. I knew it._

However, taking into account all that the witch had said beforehand, she didn't really understand why. _She was fine with it up until I gave her a name_, she recalled, and, immediately offended, she leapt to vindicate herself._ What's so wrong with Faith, huh? _Though she didn't know it, the inner-Slayer mimicked the inner-Willow of only moments before, shaking a daring fist from behind the blonde's eyes. _Nothing, that's what! She's fine. Absolutely fine. _Of its own accord, her mind added in a sly, _Figuratively __**and**__ literally. _The inner-Buffy was then silenced, and she plopped down with a goofy grin. _Definitely. I've got no doubts there, 'cause I mean, God, those eyes, and… okay, okay, stopping now. I'm stopping. Stopping, and_…_ stopped. Whew. Now, okay. Back to the present. __Oh, right. __Will. Will being a meanie-face. _

Mood soured, the smaller girl almost began to pout. _Humph. Charlatan! Well, you know what, missy? I'm sorry not all of us can find an expressionless hunk like Oz, but--oh, my God, I did it again. Charlatan? I really need to stop falling asleep in English. Aren't you more retentive asleep? That's why people sleep listening to those tapes, right? I mean--ah! There I go again! Retentive! Can you believe it? __Wow. __Next time Will yells at me for snoozing in class I'm just gonna whip out my good buddies '__charlatan' and __'__retentive__'__ here. Smack her around a bit. She won't know what hit her.  
_

Eventually, amidst the rambling thoughts that kept her company while the redhead was off in her own world, the blonde managed to get back into the appropriate mindset, diving headfirst back into the nervous tension that seemed to coat her body like a second skin. _I think maybe she might have caught on to that whole 'expressionless hunk like Oz' thing,_ she decided after a short moment, as the witch had still yet to move, even after a good two and a half minutes of silence. _Maybe she's broken. _The blonde frowned. _Blew a fuse or broke a circuit or something. Ran out of that chocolate-supreme caramel mocha we had this morning to keep her going, or--oh, hey, look! An expression. _

True enough, the redhead had finally broken free of her catatonic state. The first movement executed in the past two hundred seconds was a slow frown and a nearly imperceptible tilt of her head.

_Maybe not the whole open arms and 'I still love you, Buffy' I was looking for, but at least I know I didn't fry her brain or something. _Tentatively, the blonde decided to try to bring the redhead completely out of her stupor. _If I'm lucky, she won't do the whole Jack-In-the-Box, jump-down-my-throat routine. She's taller than me; she wouldnt fit. Or hey! Maybe I'd grow! Finally. But still_… _that's a lot to swallow_… _Ugh. My God, not like **that**! Jeez. If mom asks, I have no idea what that even means yet!  
_

"Will?"

After a slow moment, the witch focused on her best friend, and she uttered a small, simple, "Okay."

_Um, I definitely don't think it is._ Worried, and more than a little suspicious, the Slayer frowned. "Okay?"

Willow smiled gently, nodding to help solidify her response. "Okay."

_Five minutes just sitting there and all I get is an 'okay'? _the blonde asked herself incredulously. _How is that fair? No--how is that possible? Willow does not give one-word responses to things like this. I want a babble, damn it! _Hoping to instigate it, or at least something that consisted of more than one word, Buffy posed a new question.

"And what does that mean exactly?"

_So much for that whole __'__subtle__'__ thing_…

Willow grinned at the oddity of the question, and even more so at the blonde's distinct look of astonishment. _Doesn't 'okay' usually have that universal meaning of 'okay'?_ However, she figured she might as well spell it out to the blonde since it was so stunning. "It means, 'I've processed it, and it's done,'" she explained easily. "Neat little piece of paper sprouting out at the end that says clearly, 'Buffy likes Faith.' Simple, really."

And it was. Sure, it was a shock at first, as Faith definitely wasn't the first person she would have guessed Buffy was crushing on, obviously, but when she thought about it from a logical and enlightened standpoint, she realized that she should have seen the signs a mile away. After all, the blonde did use almost every excuse she could to go visit the other Slayer whenever she was on campus, (and the smile she got on her face after her full-body Slayer shiver alerted her that Faith was near pretty much said everything by itself), she practically sang songs about how excited she was to go on patrol with her, and often when she thought no one was looking, the redhead could catch her staring shamelessly at the brunette--which was rather odd, in her opinion.

_Aren't Slayers are supposed to be like the epitome of stealth? That's a little ironic. In a graveyard, she's got you before you know you're dust, but in a Scooby meeting--well, one of the ones Faith actually comes to--she's about as inconspicuous as Xander is when she catches him hiding in the stacks so he can stare at her butt during training_…

Looking at it that way, Willow was surprised she hadn't picked up on it earlier, for it was blatantly obvious if you knew what to look for--though Buffy would have teasingly attributed it to the fact that the redhead's eyes were drawn to her own object of infatuation far too often to notice anyone else.

As for the brunette herself, the witch didn't really have a problem with her. She was generally too quiet for the rest of the group, and she wasn't very comfortable attending Scooby meetings, only accompanying Buffy on patrol and the like, so no one else ever really got to know her, but when she was around to talk, she was usually very intelligent and level-headed--almost like, if possible, an even more reserved form of Oz, in the witch's opinion. That alone had earned the redhead's admiration, but, of course, being the brain she was, she was drawn to her because of the strange, odd and broad knowledge she occasionally shared with them.

_She's like a walking encyclopedia. I mean, even Giles didn't understand my __'__schadenfreude__'__ analogy! Hmm. It must not be a Slayer thing though. I mean, I say something simple like __'__palaver__'__ or __'__laconic__'__ around Buffy and she takes off faster than that funny little roadrunner in the morning cartoons. I guess it's just a 'Faith' thing.  
_

While the redhead was rambling internally, Buffy took another moment to watch her. She could tell easily that the redhead was still running a mile a minute inside; her thoughts painted half-shadows of expressions across her face, unintentional physical responses to whatever she must be thinking. It was almost cute. However, it seemed as if the redhead was completely unbothered by it all--and yet she had sat there thinking about it for a good two and a half minutes without a word.

_I don't get it,_ the blonde thought blankly. _There has to be a catch somewhere. She sat there for two minutes looking like I just threw her puppy into a pit of rabid frogs and made her watch them eat it. Well, okay, that's kind of gross. Maybe not that extreme, but she was definitely bothered! That doesn't just go away with an __'__okay__'__. _Determined to find whatever it was the witch wasn't saying about the object of her affections, she asked slowly, expectantly, "And your reaction to that is…?"

The witch frowned, confused. _I would have thought that came across in the 'okay' part… _"Uhm… okay?"

Blank, the blonde only stared. "Okay," she responded, toneless. Somehow, though, it came out as an incredulous half-question of an utterance.

Willow nodded, reasserting herself. "Okay."_ I thought I was the one who was supposed to need an explanation here…  
_

For a lengthy moment, the Slayer remained silent and vacant, returning the favor of the stoicism the witch had shown earlier._ Wow. I never really realized how much the word 'okay' is overused. A lot. And it can mean like a gagillion different things! How does she expect me to figure this out? I'm no Einstein here! It can mean 'okay, that's cool', or 'okay, I guess I can deal with the fact that you're totally gross' or 'okay, I'm really not cool with this at all, but I'm saying I am for your benefit and maybe tomorrow we can wake up and pretend it never happened and never ever bring it up again' and_… _Ugh! That is so cheating. Unfair to the max. Jeez._

A small pout began to form on her face.

The redhead didn't fail to notice it. _Oh, boy. _She sighed. "Okay, really, Buffy," she began, trying for her best reassuring face, "I'm good." She attempted a smile and a humorous approach to her odd logic. "Mathematic equation done. Processed and accepted." The blonde didn't look too convinced, and Willow dropped her eyes. _This is harder than I thought. Whatever happened to the good old days, when an __'__okay__'__ just meant __'__okay__'__? Gee. She must really be worried about this. _Taking a deep breath, the witch raised her eyes to a worried, expectant hazel gaze, and decided to just go for whatever came to mind. "It's just…" she paused for a slight moment, "**wow**, you know?" She gave the blonde an odd smile. _It's not every day you find out your best friend is gay. _Just to make sure one last time, she asked, "Faith?"

Buffy nodded slowly. "Faith." Not surprisingly, her body was hyper-aware of the other girl's presence once she mentioned her, and it didn't fail to alert her that her favorite brunette hadn't gone anywhere. _Faith. _She almost smiled. _Faith, __who is still over there by the guys. I wonder if--no, don't look! Stop it! But I wanna! No! Stop. Important discussion. Not even a quick peek? No! Humph._

Willow smiled, oblivious to the blonde's inner battle, nodding easily once more. "Okay then."

The redhead's response stole her thoughts away from its current argument with itself--which was a very difficult battle for the inner Buffy to fight. Certainly, logical Buffy was trying to keep her on the right track, but even she was starting to care less about keeping her eyes way. Although, after she took a moment to process the witch's latest response, which again consisted of an 'okay', the blonde was woken from her daydreaming rather abruptly. _This still isn't working!_ the Slayer thought desperately._ I'm sure there's something floating around in the big old brain of hers. Big bottles of disgust exploding all over the place and curses being thrown my way_…_ There has to be! _"Okay then?" she asked. _Time to kick 'subtle' out on its ass._ "No, 'ew, Buffy, that's gross'? No, 'I can't believe you'? No, 'go burn in Hell'?"

At the blonde's expectant stare, the witch fixed her with a blank, but steely look. "Don't you think that would have come after the _'_girl' part?"

Buffy blinked. _Good point. __'__Cause we've already established that there's absolutely nothing wrong with Faith, so no need for the 'grossness' there.  
_

"Now, if it really was Cordelia?" the redhead continued, sparing herself an inner shiver of disgust at the thought. _That's just way gross. _"Definitely. I'd boot you there and torch you myself." To anyone else, it would have been a little disturbing to hear that particular threat, but the blonde and the redhead knew there was no way anything like that would ever happen. Easy in the aftermath of her joke, Willow grinned at the other girl. "But I think I can deal with you crushing on Faith."

The Slayer remained silent, frown set endlessly in place. _Not that this isn't good, but_… _how is this so easy? I'm a Slayer--we don't **get** easy. We get big Whopper Value Meals of hardship and gore. I must be dreaming or something, 'cause Fate's way too mean to let me get away with this without a some sort of struggle_… After a short moment, however, the blonde turned her focus outward, and she realized that the redhead seemed to be fighting with something of her own. _Oh, see? There it is! I knew there was something. Here it comes. __That's it. __I'm doomed. Do I get fries with my impending misery, or is that too much to ask?  
_

Finally, the witch found the will to speak, and voiced her thoughts. Quiet and more than a little shy about admitting it, a pink tinge coloring her cheeks, she said, "I mean… she is kind of cute in that 'I can sit here and brood and write you love poems' kind of way…" Her flush darkened into a deep red.

_Oh, my God, I know!_ The blonde smiled widely, bouncing with excitement. "Exactly!"

* * *

And yes, I do realize that it's going very, very slow, but work with me here. I'm trying this new thing called 'not rushing into it' so... yeah.

Also, please forgive me about the delay. I'm super sorry about it. I'll be trying my hardest to keep it going on schedule from here on out though. I actually liked where I have it heading in my head, so I really want it out there for you guys to read. I hope you all like it, and keep reviewing! You guys are the best! XD

(By the way, if it seems like it's rushed or half-assed, I'm sorry. I just wanted to get it done.)


	6. Evenings With Honesty

So… somebody wanna shoot me? I'm sure a lot of you do. I'd probably want to shoot me too if I were you, because I know I'm doing a really horrible job at updating.

But, as always, I've come to offer you an excuse: I haven't been home much lately, so my usual routine has been thrown off. Plus, this chapter was giving me a hard time. It was going to be considerably longer, going more in depth into Willow's emotions, but I decided to just cut to the point. I know everybody's anxious to get to the good stuff, and so am I, so why waste time when it tortures all of us? From now on, it'll be more focused around Buffy and Faith together. In the next chapter, I'm thinking we'll get to see them on patrol, just the two of them, without me cutting out of it--for too much of it, anyway. Either way, you won't be missing anything good. But, anyway, no more interruptions, I promise. And now that I'm getting to where I want to be with it, the fun part, hopefully there will be no more delays.

(Also, I realize that the introspection into Xander and the others is slightly impossible, as the beginning is supposed to be Buffy's memory, but writing it like that felt too rushed and empty for me, so I kind of did my own thing and let everything fall in where it wanted to. Hope it didn't confuse anyone too bad. Lol. And I also know that cutting in between the conversation to throw in some background information is extremely distracting and can often take away from the dialogue, but that's me. I have horrible technique with stuff like that. Forgive me? Oh, and I also realize that I talk a lot. Lol. I apologize for that too. Haha.)

As always, thanks for all your reviews, and I'm sure you know by now that the more I receive, the more motivated I am to continue.

So clicky the button. Please? Even if you yell at me. I kind of prefer it after my irresponsibility as of late, actually. Clicky, clicky, clicky. XD

* * *

"There are my two favorite ladies!"

Waving enthusiastically as the Slayer and the witch neared him, Xander's eyes were alight with boyish excitement. Sure, Oz and Faith were fun in their own right, and they often did have some pretty funny jokes up their sleeves, but while the remaining two of their group had been away--for pretty much the entire lunch hour, he grudgingly noticed--he had been left to chatter on endlessly by himself, because, as usual, neither of them were much for the conversation. His silent, and notably less animated companions, sat on either side of the goofy dark-haired boy, and as the girls joined their party, they stood to greet the two of them, Oz offering the pair one of his trademark muted smiles, while Faith sported a fairly noticeable flush that spread out across her cheeks, eyes on her sister Slayer.

In any other instance, the tinier of the Slayers would have been immediately struck with the same rosy fashion as she neared her. However, an impish whisper in her ear, courtesy of her deceptively devious best friend, to whom she was listening intently, saved her the anxiety attack--for the moment.

"I knew you two were around here somewhere," Xander said, blissfully at ease, unaware of the secondhand story going on right in front of his face--namely the fact that each of his friends were far too lost in their own worlds to pay any particular attention to what he was saying. In the midst of his gaiety, feeling humorous faced with the apparently chipper demeanor of the girls, he wagged a suspicious finger at the pair of them. "Were you guys up to something sneaky?"

Surreptitiously giggling at Willow's secret comment, which had been uttered in the same instant, the Slayer promptly reprimanded the sheer risqué roguishness of it with a playful slap on the arm, and she turned to her other best friend only a second later, grinning and feigning innocence. As if she had been paying attention to him the whole time and Willow hadn't just said something decidedly very un-Willow-ish in her ear, she easily replied, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Willow giggled at her side. "Unless you consider girl-stuff sneaky, you're barking up the wrong tree," she tossed in, equally as coy, fighting a knowing smile.

Not a moment later, she was swept swiftly into Oz's awaiting arms. "My tree," he said, voice soft with the possessive, affectionate tone boyfriends sometimes get.

His sappiness earned him a light flush, a happy smile, and a quick kiss from the redhead in return.

Xander ignored the lovey-dovey moment they shared and feigned astonishment at her words, jumping to refute her. "Are you kidding me? That's the sneakiest sneak of it all! Slippery and devious--like a snake!" Having learned by then that it was important to do everything in his power to avoid the collective beating of two offended girls headed his way if he didn't censor himself, he made sure to add in a, "No offense to you guys, of course," before continuing. "But girls are--"

And then his rant began to slip far, far away, for Buffy's mind had latched on to something of much more importance. Eyes locked with a mirroring set of enigmatic brown, cheeks considerably warmer than they had been only a moment ago, her stomach on a loop-de-loop ride that could rival any amusement park's best coaster, the tiny Slayer was moments from forgetting reality completely; she had finally turned her attention to her sister Slayer. Standing awkwardly on the outside soles of her shoes rather than with her feet flat on the ground, Faith regarded Buffy with the same nervous awareness, her thumbs hooked into the hem of her back pockets and her shoulders raised, pushed forward as if she were trying to close in around herself--and she was undeniably sporting the cutest grin Buffy had ever seen.

Smiling herself, though it failed to register in her mind for a long moment, the blonde almost mirrored her position. With her hands buried safely in the front pockets of her jeans, and a similar tension in her shoulders, which was accompanied by the familiar in-crush fluttering of her stomach that was inescapable in the other girl's presence, she ignored the fact that her voice would probably sound very dorky at that moment, and offered a soft, "Hey."

Faith matched her tone exactly, sending back the same hidden-excitement grin. "Hey."

Squealing at the memory, Buffy kicked her legs up and rolled over to hide her face in Willow's mattress.

_Okay, I totally just spazzed out right there, _she admitted silently, _but I don't care._ The smile that had commandeered her lips at the thought of the other girl was entirely uncontrollable, spurred by the butterflies that had suddenly returned to her stomach, and thus the shining radiance of it was smothered by the blanket beneath her. _She has the most adorable smile __**ever**__ and she stands like a five year-old! _(She conveniently ignored the little fact that she herself was kicking her feet in the air like a little girl.)_ Does 'cute' even cover it anymore?_ Inwardly letting out a sound of complete and utter infatuation that she hoped would never, ever be introduced to the human ear, she began to shake her head helplessly. The poor comforter beneath her was bunched in her hands as she went through her body's standard post-Faith reactions.

Laying there, rolling around and smiling thoughtlessly hadn't exactly been her plan for the night, of course, but if Fate had simply let it run its course without bothering her, there might have been cause for worry of an impending apocalypse.

No, in truth, her plan had consisted only of repaying the favor a her best friend had paid her earlier. She'd arrived at the witch's house ten minutes earlier, intent on ruthlessly dragging a confession out of her. Buffy knew the witch had been far too upset for something as simple as 'hiding a boyfriend from her', and she was fixed on getting the truth. But because carrying it out without a snag would have been just too easy, it came as no surprise that her instigation was halted by the brainy redhead's academic schedule. As always, the polite and considerate friend she was, Willow offered to put off her assignment so they could talk, but she was silenced by the blonde's reassurances, and the Slayer herself simply plopped down onto the witch's bed to wait.

Within minutes, her brain abandoned planning for the future task at hand and got to thinking. Just laying there, silent, doing absolutely nothing, patiently waiting for Willow to finish her homework, only her thoughts keeping her company, there was no harm in letting her mind wander, right?

And what better place to wander than to that special spot in her fantasy-laden brain reserved for the girl of her dreams?

Thus, time currently found her giggling thoughtlessly into the redhead's mattress.

Just as the witch on the other side of the room turned to see what all the commotion on her bed had been about, questioned with a single raised brow, Buffy peeked out from over the rumpled protrusion her hands had caused in the blanket. Indignant, as the redhead had progressed into quietly chuckling at her behavior, she raised her head fully from the bed to reprimand her. "Okay, so I know I barely even have like a one in a million chance with Faith, but you can't laugh at me for dreaming!" she exclaimed. _Besides, it's not like she's never done this over Oz. Or Xander. Ew. Oh, hey! Now would be a good time for that whole 'charlatan' thing… but bringing that up would take **way** too much effort. _As such, she decided to put it off for another day, sure that the next opportunity would come soon enough.

The witch closed her notebook, finally finished with her assignment, and shook her head at the Slayer's antics. She felt bad for having the blonde wait all that time, as it was probably a contributing factor in her current condition somehow, but Buffy's was a hard, if not impossible, mind to change when she insisted on something. _She just wanted me to finish it so she could lay there and daydream until I was done! _With a small grin on her face, the redhead swiveled around in her computer chair to face the Slayer. "I'm not laughing," she assured her. _Okay, well, maybe I am, but it's not like I'm laughing __**at her**_…_ I'm just_…_ laughing at her. Right. That makes **lots** of sense._ Shaking the thought away, she instead focused on carefully picking her next words. "It's… nice."

At that, the blonde appeared just a tad confused. She propped herself up on her elbows, inviting the witch to elaborate with an expectant expression.

"I mean, you know, seeing you all happy," Willow began to explain. "Because you weren't for all this time."

Even though it would probably put a damper on the evening to bring up the cause of the blonde's unhappiness, the witch decided that it was important enough to risk, if only to get everything out in the open and to finally clear it up, since a great new day, and possibly even a happy new relationship, seemed so close on the horizon. _Then again, we haven't talked about him in forever. Which I don't mind, at all, but… I just hope she doesn't completely break down again. I couldn't take that a second time. _Reluctant, yet at the same time knowing that it needed to be done, she took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing._

"Ever since Angel left…" she said, hushed, and, with a sigh, she frowned. The memory of the night Buffy had come to her window, nearly hysterical because he'd left town without any explanation other than a heartless 'I can't pretend to love you anymore' was still vivid, even three months later. _And I could seriously kick his butt for that! Imbecilic vampire! I hope he's trapped in someone's Dust Buster somewhere. _A familiar sadness began to wash over Buffy's face, and the witch jumped back into her speech. "You were all mopey and sad and you never smiled…" Pace quickened by self-directed annoyance, as that hadn't brought about anything anywhere near a positive effect, praying she could salvage whatever was left of the blonde's good mood, she continued, "But you're good now, and smiling and laughing, and… it's nice."

Despite the witch's attempts to end on a bright note, the Slayer frowned. _It must be_…_ I was so horrible to you guys_…

For nearly two months after Angel had left, Buffy was nothing but a hollow shell. She went to school and kept up with her classes, she slayed and kept the town safe--she even ate on occasion and kept it all down--but, inside, she felt empty. She didn't care for anything, for it all felt meaningless. It seemed as if all the light had simply vanished, the fire doused, and everything that had kept her going for so long had been stolen from her life. For six weeks and two days straight, she didn't utter a single joke or exhale a single hint of laughter. She didn't smile, or frown, or cry; she was merely blank. In those six weeks, she had played out every single reason there could have been for Angel to say what he had, to leave like he had, and none of them had made any sense to her, nor had they made her feel any better. There had been no plausible explanation for his sudden coldness, no way to shut her eyes to the truth that he was gone, and so she was simply still.

"I'm sorry about that, Will," she said quietly, eyes trained on the blanket below her. Her fingers fretted with a thread that had been torn askew. "I didn't mean to go all depressive-girl on you…" _I'm surprised I didn't completely lose you guys after that… _she thought, but she knew that she had only one person to thank for it.

A certain brunette broke the tide of her apathy. Buffy still wasn't sure what about her might have done it, but when Faith came to town, it seemed as if she finally came alive, like waking from a bad dream. A soft smile and even softer brown eyes tore through the haze and pulled her from her nightmare--finally, something came along that she _wanted_ to respond to, that she strove to change for, like Faith was the tiny light at the end of the tunnel that she'd drag the entire train along behind her with her bare hands to get to. Like the closer she got, the more she fought to respond, the easier she could finally see through the darkness.

Admittedly, life before and after the brunette's arrival seemed a false cliché that she couldn't escape… but, a month and a half into getting to know the other girl, she wasn't sure she wanted to. Things had finally gotten back to normal. She dreaded getting up for school, she looked forward to the challenge of patrol, and she ate as much as her Slayer's voracious appetite could handle (though she'd argue that she didn't eat _that much_). She even felt that spark of excitement inside that she'd been missing. While a part of her was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, stubbornly denying that life could be that easy for much longer, she was finally content.

If half of that feeling came from the fact that she was just about head over heels for her new savior, Buffy could have cared less.

Willow, oblivious to the blonde's trip down memory lane while lost in her own, brushed off the blonde's apology easily. "It's okay, Buff… We all knew it was hard for you." _And we all probably would have chased after him with torches and pitchforks for doing it if we weren't too worried to leave you alone_…_ Giles even got his 'Ripper' look_._ Scary. _Since they were on the topic, however, getting everything out, she decided she might as well be honest with the Slayer. She turned her eyes down to her lap, working the words around in her head and playing with her hands before finally muttering, "But, you know, I was always kind of happy to see him go…"

Grinning at her honesty, though she'd known the entire time, the blonde began to chuckle. "I figured as much," she confessed. Though, a moment later, she looked down, frowning. She hadn't thought about Angel in so long… Now that she was faced with him again, bombarded by memories, she wasn't sure what to do.

After noticing her best friend's sadness, the redhead across the room frowned as well. "Do you still miss him?" she asked softly.

Buffy frowned for only a moment longer, and then smiled. "Not really." And even though it had only taken her a second to think about, it was an honest answer. She no longer missed the coldness of his embrace or the darkness of his stare. So aware of it now that it was gone, she marveled at the fact that she had ever enjoyed it at all. "I mean, I know I loved him," she said, "and I was really sad that he left, but…" She smiled to herself, and her less agitated hands played softly with the comforter. "Whenever Faith's around, it's like he never even existed…" Glancing at Willow shyly, she shrugged, trying to brush off some of the sappiness in what she said next. "Like all this time I've just kind of been waiting for her to come along, and now she's finally here…"

The redhead smiled at the sweet honesty, and a flush began to rise in the Slayer's cheeks as she averted her eyes. "That's good though, Buffy," the witch assured her. "Really, I'm glad you're not upset about him still…" _Otherwise I'd be hunting him down as soon as you left. _Though she had no idea what she'd actually do to him, as she possessed absolutely none of the skill required to harm a two-hundred year-old, streetwise vampire, she left it unspoken that she would figure out some way to harm him. Focusing once more on Buffy, she grinned. "No more mopiness, and we get to squeal like little girls every time Faith walks by."

The blonde began to chuckle. _Haven't I been doing that for weeks now?_

* * *

So, do you guys hate me? Honestly, I wanna know. Lol. I'll try to make it up to you all, I promise. Would ruthlessly tearing Angel a new one make anybody feel better? I'm thinking it'll do a whole lot of good for my morale, personally. Haha. Let me know what you guys think. XD


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